Belgian king to visit India Nov 3

New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANS) India and Belgium are set to rejuvenate their political and economic ties when King Albert II comes here on a nine-day state visit beginning Nov 3.

The Belgian monarch will be accompanied by Queen Paola, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht, top businessmen and academics, the Belgian embassy said here Friday. The visit starts in New Delhi Nov 3 and ends Nov 12, with trips to Mumbai, Chennia and Hyderabad.

The Belgian monarch, officially called King of the Belgians, will meet President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discuss with them a wide range of bilateral and regional issues. Patil will host a state dinner for him Nov 4.

Belgium is a founding member of the 27-member European Union and hosts the EU headquarters and other international organizations like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

A slew of commercial agreements between Belgian and Indian companies will be signed during the visit, the embassy said.

Academic links between Belgium and India will also be broadened through the signing of strategic MoUs between academic authorities from both countries - an important step that will intensify people-to-people relations between the two countries.